


Pippa's history: First Day

by Miss_Von_Cheese



Series: Pippa Coulson, SHIELD agent [2]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: AU, Cissexism, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Trans Character, Trans Female Character, Transphobia, badass SHIELD agent, trans misogyny
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-05-01
Updated: 2013-05-01
Packaged: 2017-12-10 02:16:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,236
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/780613
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Miss_Von_Cheese/pseuds/Miss_Von_Cheese
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Pippa's official first day of work as a lady. SHIELD is a tolerant organization but still...</p>
            </blockquote>





	Pippa's history: First Day

**Author's Note:**

> Inspired by Clark Gregg's interpretation of the sweet Henrietta in “[The Adventures of Sebastian Cole](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0168449/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1)”.  
> (You can find pictures of our lovely Pippa [here](http://pippacoulson.tumblr.com/tagged/faceclaim).)

She was used to them, she usually rocked the Louboutin like no other but today the damn shoes threatened to betray her with every step as she walked into the Starbucks at the corner of the street. Her knees were weak and with the voice of a little mouse she asked the same young waiter for “The usual, please!” The boy looked at her, blinked, frowned, visibly confused by her new appearance and the remnants of the joint he had probably smoked earlier. 

“Yeah,” he mumbled. “Uh, it’s for… Phil, that's it?”

“Pippa,” she corrected with a soft smile and a killer look that showed she wouldn’t accept any question. The boy nodded, rubbed his nose and prepared the same Americano as he did for her every day when she wasn’t on missions, extra sugar and a bit of caramel. It didn’t seem to change anything for him, except that he didn’t know how to spell her name, but he didn’t know how to spell Phil either.

Pippa took a sip before pushing the door of SHIELD headquarters and mentally promised her legs that if they didn’t stop shaking she wouldn’t grant them such expensive stockings anymore. She smiled at Poppy from the front desk, nodded towards Paul the CSO, and showed her brand new badge with an updated picture and name.

“I know who you are, agent Coulson,” Paul assured, slightly embarrassed. “But my database doesn’t seem up to date, I don’t… should it say _female_ or _male_? Because on your passport and your ID…”

“I’ll take care of this later,” Pippa sighed.

“Yes, of course, but technically I am not supposed to let you in, you know, with our security clearance level and the guests we’ll have today…”

Pippa knitted her brow as she stepped closer to him, and spoke in a low but firm voice. “Let me explain the situation quickly. I’m a level 7 agent with a burning coffee in her hand, if I don’t put it down on my desk in five minutes it might fall from my hand onto your pants. Wouldn’t be appropriate to welcome the SecDef for his 9:00 AM meeting in a soaked outfit, right?” Paul nodded, Pippa smiled, then walked through the guarded door with a soft “Thank you for your cooperation.”

She crossed the crowded hall, walked to the elevator. All eyes were on her, or so she thought. 5th floor, she passed the open space and locked herself in her office with a loud sigh. Done. She was here, she could start working. Her heart was beating fast, the short trip from home to her office in her new shoes, almost literally, was the biggest adrenaline rush she had felt in a while. She calmed down a little as she checked her emails, then took a phone call from director Fury as alerts from an alien invasion blipped in the corner of her screen. A regular day at SHIELD could start. At least from now on she didn’t have to lie and pretend. Phil was just a bad dream from the past, Pippa was here and she would do her thing whether they liked it or not. She knew she wouldn't be accepted by everyone, and there would be hard times, yet with the support of Romanov, Fury, and Hill she felt invincible.

_

“You mean to tell me we haven’t managed to solve the problem in New Mexico yet?” Pippa repeated dryly to the group of agents who were staring at her around the meeting table. “I told you to hire some ecology associations, they will know how to make the craters in the ground disappear. Do I have to call them myself? As for the residual radiations from Mjolnir, talk about some tragic nuclear incident we tried to cover, it will make them think the government is against them, as usual… or just mention hydrofracking, it will keep them busy for a while.”

“Oh Ma’am, please…” Roderick sighed, rolling his eyes. Pippa raised an eyebrow, struggling to maintain this calm face she had always kept at work. She had prepared herself, made a list of all the situations she would have to face now that she had lost her undeserved ‘male privilege’ and since the beginning of the day she had felt a difference: how agents valued and trusted less a woman’s opinion, even if they used to respect Agent Coulson’s. She slowly got up, looking at her cellphone.

“This is how we’re going to proceed, gentlemen,” she stated as she walked around the table. Once she was next to Roderick, she grabbed his tie in her fist and pulled him slightly, just enough to make him understand her hours of training were not useless. “I notice over the night you’ve grown patronizing and condescending, I don’t like your tone, sir. That’ll be agent Coulson for you. Let me know when you’re done.” And she walked out of the room, leaving a young trainee deep red and flustered at the table.

Pippa walked to the secondary elevator at the end of an empty corridor. So far the day had been good, a few unpleasant remarks, a supernatural case solved, a world war avoided, a calm day actually. She was waiting for the elevator when she heard footsteps behind her and a voice she knew all too well.

“Heyyy… I’ve sure seen a lot of things in my life but never such pretty legs, Miss. Are we new here, do we need a tour? I’m level 8, I can show you…”

“You are not a level 8, Barton,” Pippa sighed as she looked at him. Seeing her face, Clint turned pale and stepped back, shaking his head in disbelief.

“Cou… Coulson? What the… what are you doing like this? Are you undercover? Should have warned me!”

Pippa rubbed the bridge of her nose and stepped into the elevator. “When was the last time you’ve read your emails, Barton? Do I have to send you a carrier pigeon to have you read memos?”

“Uh… I’ve read them last week I think. Or was it last month?” Clint hesitated as he followed her. “So what’s the deal? Why are you dressed like a woman?”

“Long story short, I’m a woman. Deal with it,” she said firmly, concerned by his reactions and the fear of losing a good asset as well as a lonesome but faithful friend. 

“Okay. So from now on you’re a girl… Mrs agent Coulson?” Clint scratched his head, a bit confused. “And we gotta treat you as a woman…”

“Precisely, and remember that if the behavior, like flirting in a corridor, doesn’t seem like something you would have done with agent Coulson before, it certainly isn’t a good way to treat a woman either.”

Clint shoved his hands in his pockets. “I… I think I will read this memo,” he admitted, not sure to understand everything yet. “But are you a man turning into a woman or were you a woman all this time dressing as a man?”

Pippa couldn’t help rolling her eyes and shaking her head. “A little bit of both I guess. Does it really matter? All you need to know is that I’m your handler and I’ll keep doing my job, as you’d better keep doing yours. The only person’s panties you should care about are Natasha’s…”

The door opened on the 8th floor and Clint’s face turned as red as the elevator’s walls while he nervously waved his hands. “No-no… agent Romanoff and I are just friends!” he protested. Pippa nodded, slightly condescending, and left with an amused smile. Just friends, of course. At least it had gone well with Barton. He was a good guy, he would get used to it. 

*_*_*_*_*_*_*

There were shrieks and unmanly noises when Pippa entered the men’s locker room to gather her stuff.

“Come on boys, there’s nothing I don’t know here, don’t act like young virgins please,” she joked as she emptied her locker in a large box. “Don’t worry it’s the very last time I’m bothering you.”

She didn’t look as always, not interested and definitely used to acting professional, and made sure she didn’t forget anything before leaving the group of flustered guys who hid behind their hands what agent Coulson was still allowed to see a few days earlier. She crossed the floor to get to the ladie’s lockers, a little anxious, almost nervous for she wasn’t sure she would receive a good welcome here. As she turned at the end of a corridor Pippa felt her heart beat slightly faster. No make-up and yet looking like a comic book heroin, eyes so green they could turn the CEO of a gas company into an ecologist, curves that called for grabby hands, here was Brandy, uh… no, agent Reed. Pippa slowed down unconsciously ; damn, how could that girl be so pretty? A real lesbian dream who wasn’t even straight!

“Pippa!” Brandy exclaimed as she saw her. “I heard about your coming out this is fantastic! I’m so happy for you!”

“Thank you agent,” Pippa nodded, blushing slightly. “I’m… adjusting. So far things are doing well.” She looked at the young agent, hesitated. Everything had been almost perfect since this morning, she could give it a try after all. What could be the worst to happen? Hearing that Brandy didn’t want to go on a date? That she wasn’t single? Well, that wouldn’t be too painful to hear, she could try and see so Pippa took a deep breath and asked.

“Tell me, I was thinking that… perhaps, if you’re up to it, we could have a drink together one day? You know, a pub, a restaurant, no real plan, we just see where it goes…”

Brandy raised her eyebrows, slightly surprised. “Oh… but you know I’m a lesbian,” she smiled. The nicest, dumbest and cruelest smile without even her realizing it. “I’m only into girls. I’m sorry you know what it is, uh? You can’t change your preferences!” she shrugged and left after a few other “sorry” that Pippa wanted to make her swallow back.

Now that was painful. Yes it could go wrong, yes it could hurt even more than she had imagined. Pippa clenched her trembling hands on the cardboard and walked straight forward, her face almost dipped in the box to hide her furious blush and feverish eyes. “I’m only into girls”… That one wasn’t so pretty inside actually. Pippa was used to it, to be reminded that she wasn’t a real woman, that she would forever be stuck in the middle but that didn’t make it less unpleasant. Especially coming from someone in the LGBT circle. Why was it so complicated? Would she find one day someone to accept her and love her as she was? Not as a “boy in drag” or a “t*****”? She swallowed her contained tears and opened the women’s locker room with her foot, not really eager to see what other humiliations were waiting for her in there, but two happy voices welcomed her, startling her so much she almost dropped her box.

“Pippa!” Natasha cheered. “Yay, you can finally join the ladie’s club! We missed you here!”

Pippa placed the box on a bench and looked around. It was much cleaner in there, and the odor of sweat was covered by several flowery deodorant scents. On a bench, Natasha Romanov and Maria Hill were relaxing after a training session, still in their tight outfits, drinking iced tea and eating cereal bars.

“So… this is where you girls disappeared all these times I couldn’t find you?” Pippa smirked, hands on her hips.

Maria shrugged. “We’re gonna get out eventually but right now the world doesn’t need us. Come here, we gotta have girl talk. What kind of moisturizing cream do you use?”

Pippa scratched the back of her head and took the bottle of tea Natasha handed her. “Uh… no, you really do talk about that?”

“A master assassin has to take care of their body, it's yet another weapon,” the Russian stated with a quick move of her eyebrows. “But if you prefer we can skip the cosmetic talk and get to the sextoy discussion right now.” She looked at Maria and let out what could have been a cold giggle to a normal person but was almost a loud laughter for her. Pippa slumped on the bench and leaned her head against the cold metal of the lockers.

“Whatever you want,” she sighed. “I had a rough day, I’m not really able to discuss anything right now.”

“We can talk about your dear Captain America if you want… do you think they will find him one day?” Maria teased as she removed her small tank top to get into her catsuit.

“I don’t think so,” Pippa pouted. “If it was possible to find him, it would have been done already.” She looked inside her box where a prestigious collection of vintage trading cards was waiting for her. Captain America. The proof that you could change and become the one you really want if you try hard enough. Oh, and a badass soldier too. If she had been a boy, she would have loved to be just like him.

“If they find him one day, you’re gonna freak out so hard!” Natasha chuckled.

Pippa blushed and snapped. “Oooh shut up!”


End file.
